As a systems integrator, your relationship with your customer should never end after installation. Offering a full suite of ongoing service contracts can enhance the value of any sales agreement by building a strong relationship based on trust and value with your client, increasing the likelihood of repeat business.
Service contracts are important for SIs and clients alike. As the service provider, your company gets consistent contracts and customer loyalty. Clients benefit from maintenance, support, and long-term financial savings.
Even so, driving that contract conversation can be a challenge. Customers don’t always see the need upfront, and worse, might be suspicious at the suggestion of service contracts. You to show the client why they can’t afford to pass up on the contract.
Let’s look at some best practices you can create and include in your sales processes to make recurring service agreements a natural part of your sales funnel and client relationships.
What are Service Contracts?
In simple terms, a service agreement provides customers with preventative maintenance for a specific period. Good service agreements should help you build customer loyalty, by keeping you front of mind.
So where do you start?
5 Tips for Successfully Selling Service Contracts
1. Build it into your sales process
Don’t discount the numbers game. If you’re not discussing service contracts with every single customer, you’re cutting your profits short. Even if a client has not expressed an interest in a service agreement, you should still go over the benefits with them, one by one. Embed that conversation into your sales process.
Some companies include an itemized list of service agreement prices in their quotes, while others provide a package with services and benefits. Whatever track you take, make sure that talk happens somewhere between cold call and installation.
2. Start the service contract discussion early
Always start the service plan conversation early. If you leave it too long — until the warranty is up or about to expire — you leave it too late. By starting the discussion early, you can ensure a smooth transition between installation, warranty, and service contracts.
Similarly, be sure to bring up renewals early on. You should contact your clients a few months before their service agreement is set to expire, to reevaluate their needs and refine their plan.
3. Provide robust and flexible solutions when selling recurring service agreements
Not every client is the same, and it’s important to recognize that in their contracts. Provide a variety of recurring service agreement solutions, and tailor plans to the customer’s needs. If the client is less experienced with building automation systems or has a small control team, you might want to include training, remote support, and quarterly visits.
If the client is larger and more experienced, you can take a more hands-off approach.
Rather than structured tiers, mix and match service agreement solutions so the client can customize their contract. Not sure what sorts of services to include? Check out some of our suggestions on What Should be in A Service Contract.
4. Be aware of budgets
Don’t offer your clients a choice between everything (for an exorbitant price) or nothing at all. Service contracts are budget-friendly because they’re a single annual expense, as opposed to sporadic, unpredictable, potentially expensive maintenance and emergency visits.
Still, your client’s department might not have the budget for a top-tier service agreement, and that shouldn’t be their only option. Be sure to adapt your service plan offerings to the client’s budgetary restraints.
If they need more hands-on help but don’t have the budget for it, prioritize certain service solutions and remove the excess. Then, build contracts from year to year, as you learn exactly what the customer needs.
5. Build relationships
Service agreements should help you build customer loyalty, by keeping you front of mind. Don’t depend on service agreements to do all of the heavy lifting for you, though: the relationship won’t build itself.
When your client has a service contract it becomes even more important to make them feel important. Use the contract as a means to show your customer that you are the best vendor, with the best products, providing the best service.
If all goes well, the service plan is just one step towards a strong, long-lasting vendor-customer relationship.
How many issues will you solve today?
Train Your Sales Team for Success
The sales team plays a crucial role in selling recurring service agreements, so training them effectively is essential.
Training your sales team to emphasize preventative maintenance service agreements (PMSA) with prospects is crucial for several reasons. When sales teams are well-trained to communicate the benefits of these agreements, they can effectively highlight the value of proactive maintenance in preventing costly repairs and extending the lifespan of the equipment.
This not only enhances the customer’s experience but also positions your company as a trustworthy and dependable partner, which can lead to repeat business and positive word-of-mouth referrals.
Secondly, emphasizing PMSAs can significantly boost your company’s revenue and stability. Preventative maintenance service agreements provide a steady stream of income through regular, scheduled maintenance visits, which can help smooth out and manage the peaks and valleys of your cash flow. A well-trained sales team can identify and target prospects who would benefit most from these agreements, increasing the likelihood of successful conversions. By fostering a culture of preventative maintenance, your sales team can help build stronger, more resilient customer relationships, leading to long-term growth and profitability for your business.
OptigoVN is Your Partner for Proactive OT Network Health
Your data, your software, and your ability to help your clients become available from any computer with an internet connection, 24/7. By using the Optigo Networks Hardware Capture Tool for all BACnet MS/TP packet capture activities, or our free Optigo Networks Software Capture Tool for BACnet IP or BACnet Ethernet captures, all your network packet captures take place in real-time.
That data is automatically uploaded and available to you within OptigoVN for diagnosis and investigation whenever and wherever you need it. This kind of accessibility also means you can access, assess, and update more clients regularly.
Grow your accounts to fit your needs. Leveraging cloud assets, we offer user benefits like unlimited users, unlimited site size, and unlimited data limits on uploads.
Ready to discover how OptigoVN can help you scale your business, cut expenses, and enhance client relationships? Sign up for a free account today or contact us to schedule a demo with one of our experts.
